


Crucial Miscalculation

by sydwtr



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cam Boy Vax AU, Choking, Kidnapping, M/M, Not Canon To The AU, Sex Work, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-16 03:51:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16946454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sydwtr/pseuds/sydwtr
Summary: The thing was, Vax thought he was being careful.





	Crucial Miscalculation

**Author's Note:**

> This is another piece inspired by [librarysrestrictedsection's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/librarysrestrictedsection) Cam Boy Vax AU, though it uh... isn't canon. I got to play in the sandbox and I just dug the deepest fuckin' hole I could. Like ya do.
> 
> (If it makes you feel better, there's some rather sweet Sylas/Vax stuff under the Wall of Trauma.)

The thing is, Vax thought he was being careful.

His walls are devoid of decoration on that side of his room, plain white with plain black sheets. He absolutely never wears clothes with any sort of local logos on them--hasn’t ever been the type to represent his school or a local sports team, anyways.

When his following grew and a few people broached the subject of sending him gifts, he carefully researched PO Boxes, chose one at a busy post office on the other side of the city. A pain in the ass, sure, but better than his actual address or the one two blocks away.

He thought he was being careful.

He thought wrong.

There’s something immediately eye-catching about the stranger in the post office, something that sets his nerves on edge and whispers _run_ and he ignores it because he’s an _idiot_ , because he’s been tearing his hair out trying to study for finals and this is the closest thing he has to a break. He ignores it because all he’s going to do is grab his letters, save his packages for another day since the office itself is closed now. Grab his letters and go back home, resume his hunched position over the kitchen table pouring over notes from the semester.

Vax makes it back to his car fine, flips through his letters with a little smile. He _likes_ his fans, he likes that they like him, and once the hell that is the end of the semester is over, he plans to implement a little something extra for his most generous and regular supporters. Something special for the ones that have been there since the beginning, the ones that seem genuinely interested in _him_.

This happiness ends abruptly as a body slams him against the side of his car, a low voice in his ear. “Do everything I say and you’ll be just fine, RavensRook.”

His first instinct is to fight like a cornered animal, try to get away, but a blade presses to his throat and Vax surrenders before he’s even begun. “Don’t hurt me,” he whispers instead, slowly lifting his hands and moving them to either side of his body.

“Don’t make me.” A hand snatches the lanyard of his keys from where it’s dangling out of his pocket, reaches past him and unlocks the car door. “Give me your phone.”

“I don’t have it on me.” The knife tightens down and he feels the slick of sweat drip down the side of his face. “Really, I don’t, I left it home. Just… I… I’ll give you my number, you can call it and you’ll see.”

The hand that had taken his keys trails over his body, too intimate to really be a pat-down, but just as thorough. The voice in his ear sighs, hand lingering at the front of his jeans, massaging his cock through the thick denim. Vax whimpers softly, trying to tilt his hips away from the touch. Finally it leaves him, opening the door of his car instead. “Get in and slide over. You really do have a car you could get fucked in.”

Fuck, he _had_ said that on a stream, hadn’t he? Someone had asked if he was into public sex and he’d said he was into anything with the right person, laughed, mused that he had a car big enough to fuck in. Vax curses himself as he slides over, dumping his mail onto the floor and glancing around for any means of escape. The knife isn’t at his throat and he _could_ open the door and run, except the passenger door is jammed, doesn’t open from the inside, and he’d said _that_ on camera, too. His stomach curdles with fear as he finally gets a good look at the guy that gets in next to him.

He’s… familiar, with a shock of red hair tied back into a tight little braid at the base of his skull, light skin and green eyes. Vax's eyes narrow as he takes in the stranger’s sharp features. It’s not someone he’s seen around town before, but…

“You… You’re Fun2Fey, aren’t you?”

The smile that turns on him is anything but cheerful. Triumphant, predatory… _insane_ comes to mind. “I knew you’d recognize me. You can call me Artagan for tonight, though…” He lifts Vax’s wallet, flipping it open and looking through it. “...Vax’ildan. Interesting.”

“Just Vax.” It’s too ingrained in him at this point _not_ to correct it, and he flinches away from the narrowed eyes that land on him. “I… like it better.” This guy is crazy, but he’s marathoned enough _Criminal Minds_ to maybe survive this situation.

“Very well then, _Vax_ …” Artagan starts the car, backs out of the parking space and drives away from the post office. Not back towards home, thank god for that, but out of the city isn’t much better. They’re on the freeway before long, leaving behind the rush of traffic and lights of the city for empty miles of countryside.

He keeps himself pressed against the far door, keeps an eye on the man driving his car. All he wanted was to get his fucking mail and go back to studying… by now Vex will be home, will be worried sick about him. He scrambles to try to remember if he ever mentioned her, if she could be in danger. Hopefully not.

“I spent a long time getting up the nerve to meet you, you know…” Artagan glances at him, moving one hand from the steering wheel and reaching over. “Come here, sit close to me. There’s so many things that I want us to do together.”

Vax scoots closer, suppresses the shudder as he’s pulled in. Be good, do what he wants, get out of there as soon as possible. The knife isn’t in his hand anymore, but Vax can see it on his belt. “Like what?”

“Well, I’ve been dreaming of fucking you senseless since the first time I watched you stream, for one.”

“Oh…”

Fingers curl gently against his neck, pressing down on his windpipe ever-so-slightly. “And I’d love to watch you struggle as I strangle you…”

Red flag, the world’s biggest red flag. He’s going to die. He’s going to die and be dumped into a ditch somewhere and-- “Wait, were you the one sending in requests for breathplay?”

“Of course. And you know, it made me… just so frustrated, when you put that on your ‘do not request this’ list. When you said you’d ban anyone who asked for it… Well, I knew I had to stop asking and start _demanding_.” The hand at his throat strokes over his skin and Vax swallows hard. “You just don’t know it yet, my darling, how beautiful you’ll look when you’re gasping for breath. You don’t know how much harder you’ll cum when your life literally depends on it. But I’ll show you. I’ll show you and then you can take it off the no list and do it to yourself whenever I ask. Right?”

Vax reaches up, sets his hand carefully over Artagan’s at his throat. “I didn’t put it on there lightly. I did my research, I considered it… but there was no safe way to do it alone. The risk of dying was too high, and I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t leave you forever.” He gently lifts the hand off his neck, kisses the fingertips and tries his best to sound interested rather than terrified. “Are you sure that it’s safer with a partner?”

“Do you think I’d hurt you?”

“No.” He makes himself the picture of innocence--something he’s thankfully had a lot of practice in, Sylas has been on a corruption kink streak lately--blinking up at Artagan with wide eyes. “It’s just, you’re so sure I’ll enjoy it… that makes me sure I will, as long as it’s safe.”

“It’s very safe.”

They leave the highway, drive down increasingly barren side roads, then dirt roads, finally coming to a stop at what’s little more than a wide patch next to a field. Headlights splash briefly over another car with rental plates and Vax shudders. This guy is _thorough_.

“No one will interrupt us out here, Vax.”

“G… good…” God, he hopes Artagan is wrong. A farmer or some kids coming out here to consensually fuck or please for the love of god a _cop_ would be nice.

“You’re going to do everything that I say, right?” The hand curls in his hair, pulls and forces him to make eye contact.

Vax holds his gaze steady for a beat, trying to force all the fear and worry out of his mind, off of his face. “Why wouldn’t I? You went through all the trouble of setting this up, I don’t want to ruin it now.” His gaze drops, his eyelashes fluttering briefly. Play it up like he’s on camera.

The hand in his hair strokes against his scalp briefly, before slowly guiding him down, lying him across the seat on his back, his legs spread to either side of Artagan’s. He watches as the man digs into his pocket, his breath hitching as a camera is pulled out. “You can upload it to your channel, afterwards, yeah?”

“Yeah, that… that sounds like a plan.” He watches the camera as Artagan fiddles with it, sets it up on the dash and aims it so that only Vax is in frame. The little red recording light blinks on and he turns himself away slightly. Get through this, live through this and then figure out the rest. “You’ll want me to tag you in it, right?”

“Don’t be silly, I won’t be on camera.” One hand slides down his chest, pushes his shirt up slowly and runs over his bared skin. “There’s no sound and I won’t show my face. It’s all about you, anyways.”

“But it could be all about us--” The palm that cracks against his face turns his head, makes him cry out as involuntary tears well.

Artagan strokes his cheek, cooing softly. “Shh, now, darling, I didn’t mean that… Just do what I say, don’t argue with me, and I won’t have to do it again.”

“S-sorry…” The hands resume exploring his torso, running over his skin, sinking nails in and dragging them down his ribs. More than a few of his regulars like to see him marked up, like to see him leave scratches and bruises on himself… but it feels so _wrong_ when it’s this guy doing it. Vax breathes slow and even, wills himself to relax, to enjoy, to survive. He arches up as the hands trail down to his hips, wiggles slightly. “Did you bring lube? I don’t keep any in my car.”

His hands raise to protect his face as soon as he sees the frown, but no blow comes. Vax glances up between his fingertips, watches Artagan’s face carefully. It’s hard to read any emotional atmosphere besides _crazy_ there, but he thinks this look is more thoughtful than angry.

“All the preparations I made, and I _still_ assumed you’d have lube on you at all times, just in case a big cock came along to fuck your slutty hole. We’ll have to improvise, I guess.”

Improvised lube is, bar none, the worst possible idea. Especially out in the middle of nowhere. Vax’s mind races, trying to come up with something that won’t end in him getting fucked. “Or I could blow you? I mean, that’s gotta be better than fucking me with some half-assed lube anyways, right?”

The thoughtful look is back, the hands on his hips finally moving, loosening and pulling off his belt before beginning to undo his pants and work them down. “You’re such an eager slut.” His face lights up suddenly, sitting back as he gets Vax’s pants the rest of the way down his thighs. “Yeah, that’s it… you’re eager for it, so show me how much you want it. Touch yourself for me and tell me how much you want me to choke you.”

“Fuck…” He draws the word out on an exhale, tries to make himself sound excited rather than terrified. He does not want to die out here. That thought gets him moving, his hands running down his torso, nails following the marks already left on his skin. Vax looks up to Artagan, fighting to drop himself into his performance mindset.

“I really, _really_ wanna feel your hands around my throat… I want to have bruises tomorrow, so that I can look at them and think of you… mm…” His fingers dip into his boxers, touches designed to turn him on. He better start getting hard soon. “You’ll have to show me just where to press down to make it the best, huh? So that I can do it to myself again later.”

“Oh, I’ll show you.” Artagan leans in, wraps his hands around Vax’s neck and lines his fingers up. “See, here? When I press down…” His heart is hammering in his chest, his vision darkening almost immediately as strong fingers press into the pulse points on either side of his neck. Artagan lets up again after a couple of seconds, his smile wide. “Doesn’t it feel good?”

“It.... it does…” Fuck, it kind of _does_? Either his hand or the choking has him finally physically responding, starting to grow warmer, blood flowing to his cock.

The squeeze and release repeats a few more times, holding down longer each time, leaving Vax gasping. He arches his hips up, pushes his boxers down with his pants, and wraps a hand around himself to stroke.

“The really fun one, though…” Artagan’s thumbs press down against his windpipe, freezing the breath in his throat even before they apply pressure. “Let me see it in your eyes…”

Vax isn’t sure what _it_ is until he starts to panic, until he realizes that he _can’t breathe_ and Artagan isn’t letting up. He squirms and struggles, tightens his grip on his cock as his eyes go wide with panic, as he reaches his free hand up to try to pry the fingers off his throat. Finally, they let up and he gasps in breath, feels his cock pulse hot and hard in his hand.

“That was--” terrifying and insane “--amazing. Is this what I’ve been missing?”

“There’s more. Like this. Keep touching yourself.” His hand strokes dutifully as Artagan applies pressure again, first on his windpipe, then on the sides of his neck… then on both at once, cutting off the flow of air to his lungs and the flow of blood to his brain. Vax’s vision swims with it, growing darker as his hand speeds up.

He cries out when Artagan lets up again, takes in deep lungfuls of air and falls back against the seat panting. His eyes close, his hand moving faster as he nears the edge. “Oh, oh fuck, I’m gonna--can I cum? Tell me I can, please--”

“Not yet. There’s one more thing…” Something wraps around his neck and Vax opens his eyes just in time to see Artagan slip the end of the belt through the buckle and pull it down. It rests snug against his throat… and then grows tighter and tighter, cutting off his blood flow and air once more, this time with more force. Vax gags with it, more involuntary tears filling his eyes, spilling over as his heart hammers in his chest.

“Let’s see if you can cum before you pass out.”

His hand moves faster, squeezes down, but already his body feels sluggish, unresponsive. Vax rocks his hips up as well as he can, struggling for enough air to beg for his life. Every time he has enough to form a sound, the belt tightens down again, and Vax feels his consciousness swimming away as black dots begin to overtake his vision. If he passes out, there’s no telling what this guy will do to him. If he passes out, he’s as good as dead--

He’s not even aware that he cums, only of the headrush that follows as the belt is pulled loose, as he’s allowed to breathe once again. He can hear his blood rushing in his ears, his vision blurring with more tears, this time of relief. By the time he orients himself enough to look around, there’s only the sound of a car door, the sight of headlights splashing across his windshield as Artagan gets in his car and pulls away in a spray of gravel.

Vax whines softly, sitting up and fixing his pants, pulling his shirt down. He unloops the belt from around his neck, rubs the tender skin there with a whimper of pain. His eyes track over to where the camera was, a sigh leaving him. It’s gone. Of course it is. And aside from some handprints that may or may not show up clearly the next day--if those bruise, the belt is sure to as well and cover them up--he has no evidence of what happened.

His keys are still in the ignition and after a minute of staring at them, Vax starts his car. He drives out of there, looking around for any other cars up until he merges onto the highway and rejoins the flow of traffic. Even then, he keeps an eye out for anyone who might be following him, anyone who might have some sort of intent towards him. Vax keeps his car doors locked as he gathers up the dropped mail, makes himself look presentable as possible. He almost runs into the apartment, turning and bolting the door behind him, leaning on it and breathing heavily.

It’s dark and quiet and he reaches blindly for the lightswitch, flinches in anticipation of what he’ll see. A redheaded stranger sitting at the table, waiting for him to come home so they can finish what they started.

There’s none of that as the light comes on, only a tupperware and a note from his sister.

_Made dinner and heading over to Keyleth’s. Don’t study too hard. Love you. PS call me when you get this, you’re not answering my texts._

Into his room, snatching his phone off the charger and ignoring the various notifications in favor of calling his sister. He’ll tell her he’s fine, he’ll act like this whole thing never happened and he’ll just--

“Vax? Are you okay?”

“No.” His voice is small and scared and surprises him probably as much as it surprises her. “Come home, please? I need you.”

It’s time to come clean about a lot of things.

* * *

He spends the next month on eggshells, waiting for the video to show up online. When it doesn’t after a month, he lets himself relax just slightly. Maybe this guy got scared and ditched it. Maybe he decided to keep it as private wank material. It doesn’t matter, Vax tells himself, because it’s not online.

He bans Fun2Fey from his streams, blocks him in every possible way from accessing anything about himself. Talks to the post office about getting his mail rerouted to another PO Box without giving up the one he currently has. That’s a surprisingly easy job, a step he wishes he’d thought of before.

The only person he streams for before the bruises are fully healed is Sylas, sitting clothed on his bed with his knees drawn up and arms wrapped around himself, telling the man what happened. He doesn’t _have to_ , of course, but… he does. Even Vex doesn’t know every little detail, but if Vax doesn’t say them, doesn’t get them out of him, he’s going to go insane.

He tilts his chin up and pulls the neck of his t-shirt down, lets Sylas get a good look at the bruises on camera. He swallows, waits for words, waits for this one hint of support to drop out from under him.

**_VampKing_ **  
_This isn’t your fault, you know._  
_You didn’t ask for this, you didn’t consent._  
_And don’t you DARE pull out that “but I liked it” shit._  
_You did what you had to do to survive._  
_I’m glad you’re still here._

He feels the tears before he expects them, pulls a pillow over and hugs that instead. “You’re too good to me.”

**_VampKing_ **  
_I’m exactly as good as you deserve._  
_Which is a lot, for what it’s worth._  
_I have a present on its way to you, something I was going to ask you to start wearing while you stream, but if you don’t want to do it, I’ll understand._

“You mean this?” He holds up the choker, the simple black leather with a stylized clasp, an S of a smirking, fanged mouth. “I figured it was from you, even though it wasn’t signed.”

 ** _VampKing_**  
_You know me well.  
You don’t have to wear it if it’s uncomfortable. _

Vax slips the choker around his neck, clasps it in place and closes his eyes. It’s right against his skin, fitted eerily perfectly to his neck but not squeezing down… He inhales and exhales a few times, swallows once or twice and determines that none of that is obstructed. When he opens his eyes again, the image of himself on camera catches his attention and Vax feels a smile. “I think it looks good, Sylas.”

_**VampKing**  
One last request? _

“Anything you want.”

_**VampKing**  
I want you to start calling me daddy. _

Oh, _that_ he can do. Vax grins, putting the pillow aside and sitting back slightly. “Maybe you want to see me in your present and _only_ your present, then, Daddy?”


End file.
